The Bond We Share
Chapter 3: Life as we know it
Months had passed since Lucy's mother's diagnosis and everything at the guild was as it normally was. Except for the usual presence of it's light Layla. She had been confined to bed rest in October, being told she didn't have much time left. It was now December and she was still in the land of the living, but for how long no one knew. She was defying the odds.
It was Christmas time and a few days before Christmas eve. Lucy was bothering her father for days to let her go to the guild Christmas party. She had gotten a present for Laxus she couldn't wait to give him.
"Poppa please! I really want to go. It's only for the day, pretty please?" Lucy practically whined. They were in her parents bedroom and Lucy was sitting by her mother's bed who was reading a book and yawning occasionally.
"Just let her go Jude, she hasn't been able to spend a lot of time there since I went on bed rest." She coughed a bit then put her book down.
Jude just sighed and sat at the edge of his wife's bed. If he had his way, Layla would've left the guild when they got married. He wasn't too fond of having to share his wife or his daughter with a mages guild.
He looked towards Lucy to see her expectant face looking back, waiting for his response. He could always have Sepetto drop her off and pick her up, that way he wouldn't lose any valuable time he could otherwise spend on his latest business deal.
"Fine, I'll have Sepetto drop you off at the guild tomorrow. But you will be back home by 7pm, we'll be having Christmas dinner at 8pm." Jude said firmly.
"Yes poppa, I understand. Thank you so much!" Lucy jumped up from her chair beside her mother and gave her father the biggest hug she could muster.
"I have to go wrap Laxy's gift!" She said excitedly as she left the room.
Jude took the vacant seat next to his wife's bed and held her hand in his. "It's bad enough she wants to spend all her time at the guild, but now all she talks about is that boy." He shook his head and looked out the window.
"Sweetheart, Laxus is her best friend. The only friends she has are at that guild. It's hard for a child to form meaningful relationships as it is. It's even more difficult when they have magic. Let her enjoy herself. Fairy Tail is a second home to her."
"She shouldn't need a second home Layla, and neither should you. I'm your home, I always have been." Jude said curtly
"I know, Jude. You are my home, but so is Fairy Tail. I grew up there and I want Lucy to experience the same. It's important she has a place where she can develop and nurture her magic in a safe environment. I can't think of any place better than Fairy Tail."
Jude just huffed and continued to look out the window. Layla saw the look of jealousy in her husband's eyes. Yes he was always very stubborn when it came to how much time the women in his life spent at the guild, but it was getting worse since she got sick. She could only hope that Jude would continue to let Lucy be a part of the guild when she was gone.
The preparations for the Christmas Eve party at Fairy Tail were well underway and the guild hall was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was doing their part to make the guild look it's best.
Laxus meanwhile went into town to shop for Lucy's present. He hadn't ever gotten her a Christmas gift but he felt this year was time for that to change. He was walking down market street when something caught his eye in a window display. it was a gold necklace with a star pendant. Laxus knew it would be perfect for Lucy. He quickly walked into the shop, purchased it and was on his way back to the guild to help get everything ready. He really missed Lucy, he didn't see her nearly as often as he'd like. He wanted to go to the Konzern a few times but his grandfather forbade him from doing so saying that the Heartfilia family needed the time together, considering the circumstances Laxus agreed, but he wasn't happy about it.
Laxus walked into the guild and found an isolated table away from prying eyes. He took out the necklace he bought for Lucy and eyed it carefully. It really was perfect for her but something was missing. A light bulb went off in his head and he channeled some of his lightning into his finger and engraved a lightning bolt into the middle of the star and then wrote La on one side and Lu on the other. "That's better." He smiled at his own handiwork.
The day of the Christmas party arrived and Lucy skipped through the guild doors at one in the afternoon to a chorus of cheers. "Welcome back Lucy." "We've missed you!" Lucy went around the hall greeting all her friends, as a certain lightning mage eyed her from the second floor. She looked as radiant as ever. Laxus didn't even bother using the stairs and jumped over the railing, landing expertly on his feet with a loud thud. Lucy looked for the source of the noise and saw Laxus walking towards her with a smirk on his face.
"Laxy!" Lucy ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Laxus returned the hug with a blush slightly dusting his cheeks.
"Hi Lulu, haven't seen you in a while."
"Sorry about that, my dad's being mean and not letting me come here much anymore. but I talked him into letting me come for Christmas, I wouldn't miss it." Lucy beamed at him.
"Glad to hear it. Come on, I want to give you something." He took Lucy by the hand and led her towards the guild doors.
"Why can't you give it to me here?" Lucy asked.
"Well, you see I-I...just follow me ok?" Laxus stuttered, not sure why he couldn't bring himself to give her, her gift in the guild.
"Oh, ok, sure." Lucy replied a confused look on her face.
They both trudged through the newly fallen snow out to the familiar oak tree by the training grounds. Laxus throwing the occasional snowball at Lucy and her trying to dodge them but not succeeding.
Once they reached the tree they were both panting from running and the snowball fight which Laxus claimed victory over.
"So what it is you wanted to give me?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, yea, well I kind of g-got you something." Laxus took the small package wrapped in brown paper, tied with red twine out of his pocket and handed it to Lucy. Her eyes lit up at the sight.
"Wow, thank you Laxy!" Lucy eyed the package and returned her gaze to him.
"Well aren't you going to open it?"
"Of course! But first, I kind of got something for you too." Lucy dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a red and green box and handed it to him then began opening her own gift.
Laxus eyed the box in his hands then drew his attention to the petite blonde with a look of joy in her eyes as she untied the twine and ripped open the packaging. She opened the little box and her eyes widened in surprise as she pulled out the star pendant necklace, admiring the details on the star.
"Oh Laxy it's beautiful! Did you make this?"
"I did the engraving." Laxus shuffled his feet in the snow.
"I love it! Would you help me put in on?" Lucy undid the top few buttons of her coat and handed him the necklace and turned around.
"S-Sure." Laxus replied, moving her hair out of the way so he could fasten it around her neck. 'Her hair smells so good.' He thought to himself.
Lucy turned around and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, blushing a little as she did so. "It's perfect Lax, I'm never going to take it off!"
Laxus smiled sheepishly at her. "Glad you like it." he rubbed the back of his head in nervousness.
"Well are you going to open yours now?"
"O-Oh, yea." Laxus dug into his pocket to grab the present he placed there when he was helping Lucy with the necklace. "You didn't need to get me anything ya know."
"You didn't need to get me anything either. But you did. We're best friends now, and I wanted to." Lucy did her signature wink and thumbs up.
"Well guess I should open it then huh?" Laxus began tearing the paper away to reveal a black and gold box. He lifted the cover and saw a brand new sound pod, black and gold with lightning bolts on it, and big headphones with one big spike coming out of each ear.
"I saw this and thought of you, I know how you like to listen to your music all the time." Lucy smiled warmly at him.
"Wow, thanks! My other pod was getting real beat up." Laxus looked up at her with affection and gratitude.
"Sure thing! Merry Christmas Laxy." Lucy suddenly hugged him.
"Merry Christmas Lulu." Laxus returned the embrace whole heartedly.
Lucy left the hug and began circling the big oak tree, looking up into it's majestic branches.
"You know, we've been coming to this tree a lot lately."
"Yea, I guess we have." Laxus replied, not really knowing where she was going with this train of thought.
"So, I was thinking. Maybe we should mark it! You know so everyone knows it's our tree?" Lucy looked to him with mirth in her eyes.
"How so?"
"Oh, I dunno." Lucy paused in thought for a moment then looked to her star pendant. "That's it! Let's carve a star with a lightning bolt in it!" "Can you use your lightning to do it?" Lucy looked to him with hope in her eyes.
"Uh, sure I guess." Laxus began channeling some magic into his hand. "Stand back Lulu." She did as she was asked and went to stand behind him. Laxus' magic poured out through his hand and he used the electricity to carve a perfect star with a lightning bolt in the middle. Once the smoke cleared he eyed the finished product.
"There, how's that?" Laxus asked looking to Lucy for approval.
"Hmm. there's still something missing." Lucy pondered. She looked to her pendant again and realized what it was.
"Can you make it just like my pendant with La on one side and Lu on the other?"
"Um, yea ok." Laxus again channeled his magic and put the initials on either side of the lightning bolt inside the star.
"Perfect!" Lucy squealed.
Laxus stepped back and inspected it. She was right, it was perfect.
"This is the best Christmas ever!" Lucy sang while locking arms with Laxus admiring the now marked tree.
"Yea, you're right. It is Lulu." Laxus sighed. "Wanna head back inside? It's getting kind of cold."
"Okay sounds good to me." Lucy replied and they trudged through the snow back to the guild hall.
The entire time Master Makarov was watching the interaction from his office window with a huge smile on his face. "Those two have something very special." He mused.
The rest of the day went splendidly. Lucy and Laxus enjoyed each other's company, catching up on what's been going on since they last saw each other. There was food and dancing and merriment for all.
At 6:30pm the guild hall doors opened to reveal a stout woman with orange curly hair making her way into the guild. Lucy saw her and waved. Sepetto walked up to her and gave her a hug.
"Hello miss Lucy, are you having fun?"
"Oh yes Sepetto, it's been a blast!"
"Good, glad to hear it. But now we must head home. Your father has requested your presence for Christmas dinner."
"Aw, already?" Lucy whined.
"Yes miss, it's thirty minutes to 7pm. We must hurry if we're to make it in time for dinner to start."
"Oh ok. Bye Lax, I'll talk to you later ok?" She did their secret handshake.
"Ok, see you later Lulu."
Lucy made the rounds quickly saying goodbye to everyone. Before she walked out the doors she yelled out "Merry Christmas Fairy Tail!" and was graced with a resounding response of "Merry Christmas Lucy!" Mugs of ale in the air in cheers. With that Lucy waved and walked out of the doors with Sepetto.
The Holiday season came and went. And with it went Layla's health. She ended up passing away a week after New Years. Lucy was absolutely devastated. As was her father but instead of grieving together, he just shut himself up in his office. Lucy's only source of comfort was Sepetto.
The day came for the reading of Layla's will. Lucy, Jude, and Master Makarov were sitting in Jude's office at the Konzern, waiting for the attorney to arrive. Not five minutes later, a lanky man with his tie not quite tied straight and slightly disheveled hair waltzed through the office and joined the three others at Jude's desk.
"Greetings, I apologize for my tardiness. My name is Mr. Krenz and I am the attorney in charge of delivering Mrs. Layla Heartfilia's last will and testament." He set a briefcase that almost didn't close on top of Jude's desk and took a seat behind it in Jude's chair, which he wasn't all that happy about.
"Now to get down to business. There are only a few things that Layla left behind and they are actually for miss Lucy here."
Lucy's eyes lit up a little at that. 'I wonder what momma left for me.'
"The items in question are celestial keys. Five of them to be exact. Layla specifies that Lucy shall receive four of these keys immediately and the fifth will be held by Master Makarov until Lucy's 18th birthday."
Mr. Krenz then pulled out a blue velvet bag from his overstuffed briefcase and took one key out, handing it to Master Makarov, and the other three to Lucy.
"Oh wow, four new keys!" lucy eyed the keys carefully, wondering what spirits they were. Jude meanwhile just huffed and crossed his arms. He wasn't aware that Layla was giving Lucy her keys. This was just one more thing Jude was going to have to struggle with.
Mr. Krenz then went back to his paperwork, read something and looked to the three sitting before him. "Layla also requests that Lucy continue her development as a mage at Fairy Tail under Master Makarov's supervision."
both Jude and Lucy's eye's went wide. For different reasons of course. For Lucy she was excited because it meant she could still go to the guild and learn how to be a mage and be with her friends. Jude because he didn't think Layla would go so far as to put this into her will. Now that Layla had passed, Jude had fully planned on banning Lucy from ever setting foot in Fairy Tail again. He didn't want to lose the only family he had left.
Makarov eyed Jude throughout the reading of the will. He was aware of Jude's distaste for his guild and had a gut feeling that there would be some butting of heads over lucy's mage education.
Krenz continued. "Lucy shall spend three days a week at Fairy Tail studying and developing her magic."
The wheels in Jude's head were turning. He had to find someway to get around the will.
After Mr. Krenz finished reading the will he took out two letters, one for Lucy and one for Jude.
"Lucy, this letter explains how to make a contract with your new spirits. And Jude this letter is for you. I was instructed not to open it." He handed both of them the letters and excused himself from the room. Master Makarov looked at the key in his hand and wondered why Layla would entrust it to him.
"Well, Lucy dear I look forward to seeing you at the guild. I'll take my leave now." Makarov stood up to leave and bid his goodbyes to Jude and left the office and the Konzern, heading for Fairy Tail.
Lucy gave her dad a hug and skipped out of his office. Still very much devastated by the loss of her mother, but her spirits were lifted with the prospect of meeting some new spirit friends.
Jude meanwhile sat in his chair and called Sepetto into his office. A moment later Sepetto knocked on the door and stepped inside.
"Sepetto, please contact Mr. Krenz's office. Please let them know that when Mr. Krenz arrives that he should contact me. Immediately." Jude spoke with distaste in his voice.
"Y-Yes, sir. I'll contact his office right away." Sepetto replied and rushed out of the office.
Meanwhile Lucy was in her room reading the letter her mother had written to her:
My Darling Lucy,
If you are reading this then that means I am no longer with you. But take heart my dear one! The keys I have left in your care were my spirits. You will never be without me as long as they are with you. I love you so much my daughter and my hope is that you will become an accomplished celestial mage. Here are the steps for summoning and contracting any celestial spirit. Since I aided you in contracting Aquarius I thought you'd like to have the steps written out.
Take the key into your hand and hold it out in front of you.
Channel your magic into the key
Say "Spirit of the celestial realm I call on thee, open thy gate [spirit name]
Introduce yourself
You will need to form a contract with them. Just ask each spirit once they are summoned "Would you like to form a contract with me?" They will then tell you when they are available and when they aren't and what their abilities are.
The spirits that are now entrusted to you are:
Taurus the bull
Virgo the maid
Cancer the crab
Capricorn the Ram
They will become a part of your family, just like they became a part of mine. Do not be sad Lucy, even though I am not with you physically, I will always be with in your heart.
Love,
Your Mother.
Lucy shed a few tears as she read the letter. She set it down and held up the three new keys in her hand. She was excited to get to know this spirits and add them to her family. She was sure Aquarius would be happy to have some new spirit friends.
Meanwhile in his office, Jude opened the letter addressed to him by his late wife.
My Darling Jude,
If you are reading this then I am no longer on this earth. Please my love, do not fret for I will always be with you in spirit. I love you like no other Jude and I am saddened to not be able to see Lucy grow up and to grow old with you. I'm sure by now that you have read my will. Before you get upset please hear me out. I incorporated Lucy's mage education because I feel it is of the utmost importance. As a person with magic, Lucy will need to learn how to control it and use it for good. Fairy Tail did that for me so I would like them to do that for her as well. I understand your hesitance in this matter my love but please know that Lucy will never leave you. You are her home. I humbly ask that you keep my request.
All my love,
Your Layla
Jude just stared at the letter. Layla knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. Unfortunately this was one request he was not planning on keeping. 'She won't know now if I let her go to Fairy Tail or not' he thought.
Just then he got a phone call. It was Mr. Krenz.
"Ah, Mr. Krenz. Thank you for contacting me on such short notice."
"Of course Mr. Heartfilia. What is it that you would like to discuss?"
"I need to know if there is a legal way to change my wife's will."
"Why would you want to change it?"
"That is of no consequence. Is there a way?"
"Well as the executor of the will I would not be the one to talk to in this matter. It is my responsibility to ensure that Mrs. Heartfilia's will is upheld in it's entirety."
"...I see. Well you will be hearing from my legal team then. Goodday Mr. Krenz." Jude didn't wait for a response and just hung up the phone. He would have to do some digging on this. He went through his contacts list and pulled up the phone numbers of his legal advisors and attorneys.
